News

Congratulations to Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Ashlyn Young on her first scientific publication! Ashlyn spent last summer at the University of Minnesota with the Haynes Research Group as part of the Nanotechnology Network’s Research Experience for Undergraduates Program. While in the Haynes Research Group, Ms. Young worked with Xiaojie Wu and Donghyuk Kim, and their work has now appeared in Accounts of Chemical Research! Their paper, titled “Microfluidics-Based in Vivo Mimetic Systems for the Study of Cellular Biology,” offers a perspective on microfluidics in cell-cell modeling. Their paper explains that their studies will not model “the complexity of the in vivo human system” but will be able to “control the complexity so researchers can examine critical factors of interest carefully and quantitatively.” To read the full article, find it through
ACS Publications.

NOVOCOR MEDICAL SYSTEMS FEATURED ON TEDMED BLOG

Three companies featured in the TEDMED 2013 Hive have developed products engineered for emergency responders, reports Stacy Lu of the TEDMED Blog. Overall, 50 start-ups were featured in the 2013 Hive, but Lu features three companies focusing specifically on first responders. These companies represent a growing trend in healthcare innovation to transform emergency medical care, and one of the three start-ups is Novocor Medical Systems, co-founded by core faculty member Dr. Andrew DiMeo. Novocor originated in Dr. DiMeo’s senior design course, which immerses senior undergraduates into the healthcare field in order for them to find real-world problems to solve. Novocor’s innovative device, HypoCore, translates therapeutic hypothermia (which is typically induced by a catheter based cooling system in hospitals) into a portable and rechargeable device for EMTs to use in the field. Lu’s article highlights that HypoCore is not only great on paper—it was also designed with FDA regulations in mind and has secured nearly $1M in Series A financing. Novocor plans to file with the FDA in approximately a year and a half. Congratulations to Novocor for their continued presence in the press!
To read Stacy Lu’s full article, “Innovations to aid first responders, and not a second too soon,” head over to the
TEDMED Blog.

BME graduate student Asad Ahmad has been selected to receive an F31 fellowship from the National Institutes of Health to fund his doctoral degree. Asad’s fellowship will run for three years and support his research with Dr. Allbritton’s group. Asad’s project involves developing a micro-engineered technology to introduce tightly controlled gradients of relevant morphogenetic factors to primary colonic cells in order to reveal contributions of individual factors on colonic stem cell expansion. The colonic stem cell niche drives the most rapidly self-renewing tissue in the human body—the colonic epithelium. Ahmad’s application fell under the umbrella of the National Cancer Institute, which funded less than one third of F31 applications it reviewed in 2013. BME congratulates Asad on both the fellowship and the external recognition of the importance of his envisioned research!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Students who entered the university in the fall of 2009 or later must meet the requirements of the General Education Program (GEP)to graduate. The GEP form shows you how to select your general education attached form to choose your humanities courses. It's menu style. There are blanks on the page. You choose a course to fill in each blank. Read the fine print, for example, when courses for a category must come from two different disciplines.

Ideally, the GK and USD blanks are not different courses from the blanks above. Choose at least one course to fill one of the blanks above that has USD beside it and at least one that has GK beside it.

The course selection is menu style. There are blanks on the first page. You choose a course from the appropriate category on the following pages to fill in each blank.

Of the courses you choose to fill in the blanks, one should meet the foreign culture co-requisite. These courses are indicated by an asterisk. Ideally, the foreign culture co-requisite is not an additional course. It is filled by one of the courses that filled the top 7 slots as long as that course meets the co-requisite as indicated by an asterisk.

N is for Newtonian (we call it normal). It's traditional physics. If you had physics in high school, this is the type you had. As an example problem, you would calculate the trajectory of a cannonball.

M is for matter and interaction. It's a new teaching method. The laws of physics are the laws of physics, but this class teaches them from a molecular physics viewpoint. They use modern teaching techniques, and computer simulations written in the Python language.

Assessment statistics show that students in M tend to make marginally better grades than students in N, but students who took N tend to make marginally better grades in statics and dynamics since they follow more of the traditional physics approach.

The only highly significant thing the assessment statistics have shown is that you shouldn't switch styles from PY205 to PY208. If you start with M, it's probably best to stick with M, and the same if true for N.

To change your major, you’ll need to be admitted to the College of your new major. Once you have been admitted to the new college, they will assign you an advisor. You should contact your new advisor to guarantee that you’re registered for the best courses for your new major.

The link below gives more detailed instructions. http://www.ncsu.edu/majors-careers/change_major/If you are undecided about a new major or curretly don’t meet the requirements for your new college, Academic Advising Services is the best place to go for advising. BME advisors cannot advise you for a major other than BME.

If you are currently unmatriculated and do not meet the matriculation requirements for your new major, please send your major change request to Dr. Mary Clare Robbins (mrobbins@ncsu.edu). Be sure to include your student id number. If you are currently matriculated or qualify for matriculation, please use the matriculation website to matriculate into your new engineering major.

In your Pack Portal, you should see your enrollment appointment. Your enrollment appointment is the earliest date and time that you can register for courses for the next semester. If you create a wish list, the registration system will automatically try to register you for the courses on your wish list at the time of your enrollment appointment. You should check to see that you were enrolled in all the courses on your wish list and make changes as needed.

If the class is listed as an equivalent on the transfer website to the NCSU course you need, it will transfer without a problem.

Courses transferred from another institution will transfer as CR (credit) if you make a C or better. They will not count toward your GPA. If you make less than a C, you can't transfer the course.

If the course you would like to transfer is not listed on the transfer website, you will need to take the course syllabus to the NCSU department that would offer the course to have it evaluated for transfer. For example, if you wanted to transfer a history course, you would take the syllabus to the history department.

You can count 6 credit hours of graduate classes taken as an undergraduate toward a graduate degree at NCSU as long as those classes don't count toward your undergraduate degree. Graduate credits typically do not transfer to other universities. As an undergraduate, you'll need to receive permission from the instructor of the graduate course to be admitted to a graduate level course.

There are a few tactics that you might be able to use. Get on a wait list if there is one. Find out when tuition is due. On the day after tuition is due, all students who haven't paid tuition are dropped from their classes. There may be openings in classes then. Many students change their schedules during the first week of class, so check often for the class you want during the first week. You may also plan to attend the class you want to add on the first day. Dress nicely and sit at the front. After class, approach the teacher, explain your situation, and see if the teacher will admit you to the class.

If the class is a course that is required as part of the BME curriculum or is one of your BME electives, send Dr. Cartee (lacartee@NC State.edu) the following information.

Your student id number

The class number and section number of an open class to which you need to be added

The 4 or 5 digit class number that corresponds to that class

If the class it not part of the BME curriculum, you'll need the permission of the department that offers the class. You should contact the course instructor or coordinator of advising listed on the website below for the department that offers the class to see if he/she can help.

There is no guarantee that there will be openings for the junior class. We have admitted that class. If there are admitted students who change their major, we will accept applications to fill those slots. While there is no guarantee of an opening, we have had openings the past few years. Students who are reapplying and transfer students can compete for those positions. Applicants who apply to enter the program as juniors must have all of the pre-reqs for the junior level courses. Those pre-reqs are an equivalent to BME 201 as discussed below, BIO183, ECE331 and MA242 and a 2.9 minimum GPA.

You may also choose to apply to the sophomore class to which at least 55 students will be admitted. In that case, be sure that you have NOT completed all of the pre-reqs listed above. If you have completed the pre-reqs, you will automatically be considered for admission to the junior class.

Be realistic about the 2.9 GPA requirement. Map out the courses you plan to take and your anticipated grades and calculate your projected GPA. If you didn’t make a 2.9 your first year, then it probably isn’t realistic to expect that you will make straight A’s from this point forward. GPA is calculated by:

Sum of all courses(credit hours * grade points) / total credit hours taken

If you use a grade exclusion, you can eliminate that class from the calculations. The grade points are 4.3 for A+, 4.0 for A, 3.7 for A-, 3.3 for B+, 3.0 for B, 2.7 for B-, 2.3 for C+, 2.0 for C, 1.7 for C-, 1.3 for C+, 1.0 for D, 0.7 for D-, 0 for F. S/U courses and TR courses don’t factor into the GPA.

Because we have to limit the number of students in BME classes, unmatriculated students are not allowed to take BME classes (with the exception of BME 252 – see below). If you are currently enrolled in BME 201 and BME 204, you’ll be dropped from those classes. Those should be your only two BME classes.

For unmatriculated students, the following course substitutions will be permitted. By taking the courses below in place of the required sophomore level BME courses, it is possible to stay on track with the BME curriculum.

BME 201: For students who have not matriculated into BME, we will accept MA 116, CSC 112, CSC 114 or CSC 116 as a replacement for BME 201. Matlab is the computer language taught in BME 201 that we use in our upper level courses. MA 116 teaches Matlab, so it’s probably the best choice. CSC 112 teaches Fortran, CSC 114 teaches C++, and CSC 116 teaches Java. C++ is very close to Matlab, but it is offered online only. We will accept one of the CSC classes provided you agree to teach yourself Matlab. Teaching yourself Matlab isn’t as difficult as it sounds. All computer languages are very similar. Key words and punctuation may change, but the basic principles of programming are always the same.

BME 203: Unmatriculated students can substitute MSE 200 or MSE 201 for BME 203. The subject matter for those classes is very closely related.

BME 210: BME 210 is a 4 credit hour circuits course with a lab. Unmatriculated students can replace the 3 lecture credits with ECE 331 and the one lab credit with BME 312 taken after matriculation.

BME 252: BME 252 is a one credit hour online class. Unmatriculated students may take this class, but you will need to send a request to Dr. Cartee to be added. Please include your student ID number with your request.

BME 204: There is no course substitution for BME 204, but it can be delayed until the junior year.

When there are open seats in a course that are reserved for specific majors, you may
attend class the first day and ask the instructor for permission to have one of the restricted
seats. If the instructor grants permission, use a schedule revision form to add the course
to your schedule. You can pick up a schedule revision form from your academic adviser.
This form requires the instructor's signature.

If the course restriction says departmental approval required, you may contact the
instructor to find out who in the department can grant permission (permission must come
from the department teaching the class).

If there is a GPA restriction that you do not meet, you will not be able to register for the
class.

If you plan to come to NC State for an engineering degree (even if it's not BME), we
would recommend putting your back-up choice as your 1st choice and BME as your
2nd choice and then still completing the separate BME essay. This way, you can be
admitted to NC State sooner (April/May) and find out about BME later (June).

If you only plan to come to NC State if you are accepted into BME, we recommend
listing BME as your 1st choice and nothing as your 2nd choice. Again, be sure to
complete the separate BME essay.

First, check the list of pre-approved transfer courses for NC Community Colleges or
other colleges/universities. If the course does not appear on either list, it will have to be
evaluated for equivalence.

You must provide a complete syllabus, textbook list, and graded coursework (if the
course has been completed already) for evaluation. These materials should be submitted
to the department responsible for the course that you intend to substitute.

Late course additions must be approved by the instructor of the course and the College of
Engineering. A schedule revision form should be used to add a course.

Late course drops are permitted only under certain extenuating circumstances. A schedule
revision form should be used to add a course. The form must be accompanied by a
letter of explanation addressed to Dr. Dave Parish, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs,
justifying the request and supporting documentation (doctor's notes, counseling center
notes, etc.).

Students who have a legitimate reason for dropping a course after the deadline should
first consult the University Counseling Center

Progress toward degree warning means you are not progressing in your degree as
required by the university (e.g., taking too many non-curriculum courses, repeating
courses too many times, poor grades, etc.).

A co-op is a structured, university approved work program designed to allow students to
alternate semesters of school and paid work in their field of study. During semesters of
work, students enroll in a zero credit co-op class (COP ***) that allows them to maintain
continuous enrollment. Co-op generally requires one extra year in school to complete the
program, and the time spent working can be applied toward a professional engineering
license. For more information about co-op, visit the co-op website. Students should apply
for the co-op program after they have CODAed.

An internship is paid career-related experience, typically during the summer. The Career
Development Center provides the ePACK system to help you find an internship.
Students can intern at any time. An internship does not apply toward a professional
engineering license.

Place out exams are offered at the discretion of each department. Contact the academic adviser
for the department of interest to find out if and how you can attempt a place out:
Math: Jeffrey Scroggs, scroggs@unity.ncsu.edu
Physics: John Blondin, john_blondin@ncsu.edu
Chemistry: Phil Brown, phil_brown@ncsu.edu

Students are only eligible for place out exams if they have never attempted the course before at
a college level.

The BME department is joint between NCSU and UNC. The faculty members are all faculty at both Universities. The graduate programs are also joint, and the graduate students have student IDs for both universities. The undergraduate program at UNC is currently working on becoming joint. At NCSU we offer an accredited BS in BME.

UNC use to offer a degree in Applied Science. The program does have ties to our department in that students are allowed to take upper level electives from faculty in our biomedical engineering department and some of our faculty members have half-time appointments in the applied science program.

Transferring to BME at NCSU is a 2 step process. First, you must be admitted to the College of Engineering. Second, you must be admitted to Biomedical Engineering. The BME department at NCSU is new, established in 2004. We offer a fully accredited BS in BME. Since we are new, we have limited faculty. In order to provide the quality of education that we like to guarantee our students, we need to limit our enrollment. Currently, we’re accepting 60 students a year. This is why the 2nd admissions process is necessary.

Step one is to be admitted to the College of Engineering. Requirements to transfer into the College of Engineering are found here.

To find courses are your institution that are equivalent to the required courses to transfer, use the transfer website.

A minimum 3.5 GPA is required to apply to BME as a transfer student. Because you often won’t receive a decision on your college admission until after BME has completed its admissions process, you should go ahead and apply to BME. Applications are due on the last day of classes (not finals) of the spring semester. Decisions are made one or two weeks after the end of the 1st summer session. Lesley Hubbard (lhhubbar@NC State.edu) can send you an application. If you are admitted to BME before being admitted to the college, your application will be conditional upon your acceptance to the College of Engineering.

Typically,
admissions are made to the rising sophomore class. We will consider
applications to the rising junior class. If students admitted to that
class as sophomores change majors or otherwise leave the program, we
will replace those students with qualified rising juniors. We can’t
guarantee that there will be openings in the junior class, but
typically there are some slots available. To be admitted into the
rising junior class, you must meet all the pre-requisites for the
junior levels courses. Those include a computer programming course, an
electrical circuits course, biology, and Calculus 3.

Computer programming course: Our students take BME 201. Students in BME 201 learn to program in Matlab. We will accept other programming courses in place of BME 201. The best choice of classes would be a Matlab programming class, but we will accept courses equivalent to CSC 112, CSC 114, CSC 116, provided that you agree to teach yourself Matlab. Students in our junior and senior level courses are required to program in Matlab. Teaching yourself Matlab is not as difficult as it might sound. Once you learn one programming language, other programming languages tend to follow the same format. If you can’t take a Matlab programming course, the 2nd best choice would be a programming course in C++. The next best choice would be a programming course in Fortran. It will be easiest to teach yourself Matlab if you have learned to program in one of these two computer languages.